Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford
Tuesday 26th February 1945rs
Football – England – Championship
Pick Both teams to score
Bookmaker William Hill
Odds: 4/6 (odds taken 20.45 GMT, Monday 25th February)
Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford both enjoyed excellent wins at the weekend and will be looking to collect a further three points when they meet on Tuesday, in an effort to keep their slim hopes of a top six finish alive.
Championship Betting at William Hill
Sheffield Wednesday Preview
Steve Bruce became only the second manage in history to manage both Sheffield clubs when taking over as the Owl’s boss at the beginning of the year. Having been sacked as Aston Villa manager earlier in the campaign, and dealing with personal issues away from football, Bruce took up the post a few weeks following his appointment and there are signs that the club’s fortunes are beginning to turn around. Saturday’s excellent 3-1 win at home to Swansea was a fifth game without defeat in all competitions and extended their run in the Championship to six without a loss. It’s kept their very faint hopes of reaching the playoffs with a nine-point gap between them and sixth placed Bristol City, but we have seen stranger things happen in this division. In all likelihood, Bruce’s appointment was about stabilising the club for the remainder of this season and looking ahead to the next campaign where they hope to be much higher in the table. Although unable to get Villa promotion into the Premier League, there are few more experienced managers at this level who know exactly what it takes to get teams promoted. You can see from his former club’s struggles since he left just how big an influence Bruce can have and that’s certainly seeming to be the case with his new employers.
Key-Facts – Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford
- Sheffield Wednesday have yet to lose a game since Steve Bruce took charge (two wins, three draws)
- Brentford defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 when the teams last met in August
- Both teams have scored in 11/16 Sheffield Wednesday home games and 11/15 Brentford away games
Brentford Preview
I previewed Brentford’s game at the weekend and highlighted the contrasting nature of their from at home compared to on their travels. Thankfully the Bees obliged for us by thrashing Hull City 5-1 to record their 10th home win of the campaign, becoming the joint highest home scorers in the league at the same time. It has put them to within 10 points of sixth place but they have an opportunity to leapfrog their opponents by beating them on Tuesday and would also have a game in hand as well to close the gap on the teams above them. It’s certainly not over for Brentford but they have to somehow try and find a way that sees them picking up a lot more points away from home than they have managed so far this season. It’s just one away league win this term, coming against lowly Rotherham at the beginning of this calendar year. There’s some comfort in that they have also drawn seven of their 15 away matches, but single points are not going to be adequate if they wish to finish in the top six and their winning run really has to start tomorrow otherwise they can forego any faint hopes of promotion they may have.
Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford Betting Preview
The issues for both these teams this season has been their inability to string a run of wins together which would see them much closer than they currently are to the top six. Both have recent experience of being in the playoffs and that is essentially their aim but they have left themselves a lot to do. Wednesday and their visitors tomorrow are the epitome of average in the sense they have won 11, drawn 11 and lost 11 so far, with Brentford having one less draw from their 32 games. It’s pretty remarkable but both manager knows that the win column will have to be increased significantly if they are to challenge for promotion.
Only three visiting teams have won at Hillsborough in the league this season despite the Owl’s managing just six home wins. Unsurprisingly, Brentford won the reverse meeting between the two clubs – winning 2-0 at Griffin Park way back in August. The hosts will feel they have a good opportunity to avenge that defeat considering their own form and the struggles of the Bees on the road but I’m more inclined to look at both teams to score as the selection for this game. It has been a winner in 11 of Sheffield Wednesday’s 16 home games this season and 11 of Brentford’s 15 away games. With a draw not really appealing for either club, this looks to be the way to go.
